Berlin attack: Anis Amri's nephew and two more arrested

Three held after confession by nephew that Anis Amri urged him to join ISIL and sent him money, Tunisian officials say.

24 Dec 2016 14:16 GMT

Tunisia has arrested the nephew of Anis Amri, the Berlin attack suspect, and two others linked to him, according to the North African nation's interior ministry.

The three suspects - aged between 18 and 27 - were arrested in a police raid on Friday in the central province of Kairouan, where Amri's hometown is located, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Amri's nephew has confessed to Tunisian authorities that he had been in contact with his uncle via Telegram, a messaging service, and that Amri had asked him to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, the statement said.

The nephew has also said that Amri sent him money by post to enable him to travel to Germany, where the Berlin attack suspect was living at the time.

At least 12 people were killed when a truck drove into a Christmas market in the German capital on Monday.

Claims of incompetence

Amri was killed in Italy's Milan on Friday following a Europe-wide manhunt, prompting accusations of incompetence at German officials for allowing Amri to cross borders.

Germany's top security official has denied charges that authorities bungled an investigation into Amri, who had also been watched by security officials previously as he was suspected of "terrorism" and plotting a robbery to steal arms.

"To speak about a failure by the security authorities would be inappropriate," Thomas de Maiziere, interior minister, told Germany's Bild newspaper on Saturday.

"However, we will, of course, analyse the case meticulously and release a corresponding report."